Tottenham’s victory at the Etihad last month thrust them into the most intriguing title race for years while also blowing a hole in the ambitions of Manchester City, but most of the discussion around the match focused on a handball decision made by the one man on the pitch who wasn’t playing. “It was a penalty that referee Mark Clattenburg wanted to signal for and he gave the signal. It was absolutely the wrong decision,” said the normally placid Manuel Pellegrini, who was incandescent with rage at “the key moment that decided the game.”

“It hit the back of Sterling, then his elbow. Sterling was not even seeing the ball,” continued Pellegrini. “Unfortunately for us it was the same referee as we lost against Tottenham in the first round with two goals offside. It was decisive for the game. I don’t think it is a good decision to have the same referee.” The incident was replayed over and over during the live coverage and highlights, with the decision being questioned and analysed by a vast array of pundits and commentators, including former referee Graham Poll. “It just wasn’t handball and Clattenburg was wrong,” wrote Poll in his newspaper column. “Tottenham might win the league because of a referee’s mistake.”

Poll is one of the few former officials who comments in the media on refereeing. The reason the vast majority hold their tongues is that the financial implications can be significant. Mark Halsey is another former referee who had to waive his rights to a severance package of £50,000 – the equivalent to a year’s final salary due on his retirement – when he chose to publish his autobiography, Added Time.

The book makes reference to a series of contretemps he had with the referees’ governing body PGMOL and especially its head, Mike Riley, who took over in 2010. He and his ghost writer, the widely experienced football journalist Ian Ridley, went down the self-publishing route when the original publisher, Headline, showed concerns about the Premier League’s response to the book.

Do we really want football referees to give post-match interviews?

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Ridley is a vehement critic of the PGMOL and its close links with the Premier League, which he regards as both unusual and unhealthy. “In no other league in the world does the league govern the referees’ representative body,” says Ridley. “In all other major footballing nations, it is the federation that controls officials. In England the FA cannot afford to. Only the Premier League can fund a full-time Select Group.” Ridley points out that in most countries the referees’ body is wholly independent and therefore not beholden to the league. He says this close association affects the PGMOL, describing the organisation as being “a cesspit of political paranoia.”

Referees are contractually not allowed to talk to the media so they cannot defend themselves from criticism. The wall of silence creates a void that attracts subjective commentary and conjecture. Just listen to BBC’s 606 any weekend to hear the fans’ vitriol. Surely it would be better for all concerned if there was a mechanism for a calm, rational discussion of certain decisions. The You Are the Refwebsite attempts to do exactly that with a panel of ex-referees, including Halsey and Keith Hackett, who comment on the key decisions.

As a former Fifa official who was involved in the early years of PGMOL, Hackett has always been an advocate of better communication. For example, he once visited David Moyes at Everton to talk about Marouane Fellaini. “He had been given a succession of yellow cards and I explained why, so then Moyes deployed him in a slightly different role,” says Hackett. He is certain that this sort of dialogue would not happen nowadays.

With You Are the Ref, Hackett is aiming to “provide analysis that will help to inform and educate the next generation of referees.” Hackett is deeply concerned about how the current lack of communication between referees and players, managers, clubs and fans is affecting the game. “The Premier League has a controlling influence over the PGMOL, which discourages anybody from saying anything.”

Hackett also thinks that bringing in referees from Europe would improve standards. Outside the UK there is less resistance to the notion of referees communicating with the media. In Australia, for example, there is currently a pilot scheme that gives the referees from the A-League the opportunity to address the media after games to explain their decisions. The Bundesliga also permit limited interviews, MLS encourages debate and discussion over key incidents, and Scottish referees are considering a more open approach, so it is not completely out of the question. But Mike Riley, the general manager of PGMOL, seems determined to continue the omerta that surrounds his team of 78 referees and 247 assistant referees, and the Select List of 17 referees who are responsible for taking charge of all the Premier League matches.

David Squires on ... A-League referees' post-match interviews

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The game would not exist without referees but they remain the most castigated individuals in the sport. Yet you never hear referees defending themselves or even attempting to justify their decisions. This one-way street is one of their own making as the body representing their interests do not allow any media interaction whatsoever. PGMOL was established in 2001 in response to referees turning professional. Before then officials were amateurs who received a match fee. A Premier League referee can now earn a basic annual salary of around £70,000. Factoring in match fees and expenses on top of that, most of the Select List referees will earn in excess of £100,000 a year. Back in 1988 the match fee was £60 plus expenses for a referee and just £30 for a linesman.

Howard Webb was acknowledged as one of the very best referees in the world. The 44-year-old former policeman’s career culminated in Webb becoming the first person to referee both the Champions League and the World Cup finals in the same year. However, even that unrivalled feat was tarnished by the criticism Webb attracted for the leniency he afforded to Nigel de Jong when he almost decapitated Xabi Alonso in the 2010 World Cup final. De Jong admitted he was “lucky” to stay on the pitch and Webb later conceded that given a better angle he should have sent him off. Even though he issued 14 yellow cards throughout the game as well as dismissing John Heitinga, much of the post-match analysis focused on Webb’s lack of control.

When he retired as a referee in August 2014, Webb took up the role of technical director at PGMOL. He lasted less than a year before effectively replacing Halsey as part of the BT Sport punditry team to offer opinions on officials’ decisions during televised matches. Webb also has a regular column in the Times, which affords him the opportunity to look at decisions in the cold light of day. Hackett feels that Webb’s views are conservative and he rarely challenges the decisions made for fear of rocking the boat.

Celebrating Pierluigi Collina as the referee returns to action at Old Trafford

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There is only one referee who seems to ride above the customary deluge of abuse and invective. Pierluigi Collina, achieved the remarkable feat of being voted the top referee in the world for six consecutive years between 1998 and 2003, very rarely attracted even the merest hint of criticism in a profession that is characterised by relentless ridicule.

“He was unquestionably the best ref I have ever seen,” says Hackett. “Firstly, he prepared extremely well – he knew all the teams, the players, the tactics etc – and, secondly, he was extremely fit, had great acceleration so was always in the right place.” Collina was even welcomed into the Italian football hall of fame in 2011 alongside legendary players and managers such as Roberto Baggio, Marcello Lippi and Arrigo Sacchi. One cannot imagine Clattenburg or Webb being awarded such an honour in England. As Hackett notes, “Collina bossed the game through his personality and because he was so consistent. His reputation went before him and he earned respect through good communications and the accuracy of his decisions.” Other referees are unlikely to reach the same level, especially within the English game, because of the lack of communication.